This is the first recipe video shot in the new barn kitchen and what a simple Winter warmer it is! This is a macaroni cheese recipe with a bacon twist – there’s bacon lardons inside it to give it a chunky texture and there’s also a bacon breadcrumb on top for a little crunch!
The steps are very simple and of course you can tweak it to your liking to make the best mac and cheese ever!
Start off by frying the bacon in a pan with a drop of oil over a medium flame until nice and charred, the lardons will cook quicker as they are smaller than the rashers so tip these out first, you really want to get the bacon rashers super crispy. Once the rashers are cooked rest them on the same kitchen towel and leave to one side.
Meanwhile get a pan of water on to the boil and cook the dried macaroni until just done, we want it al dente ideally.
Make a rough in a separate saucepan by melting the butter over a medium flame, once it’s starting to bubble add in the flour and beat with a wooden spoon, this will thicken after a minute or so. Add in the milk in batches, whisking as you go to get rid of any lumps. Continue to heat and whisk until the mixture has thickened up and take off the heat.
Add the paprika, curry powder, and 3/4 of the cheddar cheese to the pan and mix through. The heat in the pan should melt the cheese and make the mixture become smooth. Pour the macaroni into the cheese sauce along with the lardons and mix through. Pour into an oven proof dish.
In a food processor add in the bread (torn into rough pieces) and the cooked bacon rashers, blitz until well blended and breadcrumb like. Scatter over the mac and cheese.
Grill for 5 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are toasted and it is warmed through, scatter coriander on top and serve immediately! Yummy!